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agriculture | farmers | food

Japan’s free-trade nemesis built on part-time farmers empire
3-Aug-2012 Bloomberg
Japan’s government wants it. Mitsubishi Corp. backs it. Toyota Motor Corp. says they need it to compete. Yet, whether Japan joins the biggest attempt at a global free-trade pact may hinge on part-time rice farmers like Tadashi Hirose. And he doesn’t much like it.
FTAs push S. Korean farmers into ’sink or swim’ crises
11-Jul-2012 Asahi Shimbun
Korean pig farmers are increasingly finding themselves in a pickle after the European Union began exporting pork bellies, a fixture in the Korean diet, for less than one-third of the local price under the FTA that took effect in July last year.
S. Korean farmers rally against China trade talks
3-Jul-2012 AFP
Thousands of South Korean farmers and fisherman protest against FTA talks with China
Playing chicken with supply management
26-Jun-2012 Guelph Mercury
The Dairy Farmers of Canada believe Harper’s promise and fully expect Canada to emerge from the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks with the protected market and paid-for quota systems intact. To an outsider, it’s difficult to see how this could happen.
Chinese premier says Asian giant is interested in free-trade deal with Mercosur trade bloc
26-Jun-2012 AP
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the Asian giant is interested in a possible free-trade deal with the Mercosur regional trade bloc.
Dairy access a hurdle in Russia trade deal talks
11-Jun-2012
The Government says New Zealand’s robust dairy sector is the main sticking point in brokering a free-trade deal with Russia.
Civic groups mount call-in against US beef
10-Jun-2012
Civic groups and the Consumers’ Foundation yesterday encouraged consumers to call legislators and urge them to vote against relaxing a ban on ractopamine residues in US meat products, stressing that the health of Taiwanese should not be used as a trading chip for economic development.
Sugar quota stays, US assures PHL
4-Jun-2012
The United States has assured the Philippines it will not renegotiate sugar access with countries that have concluded free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States. Manila had feared that rival exporters would take advantage of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks to get a bigger slice of the world sugar market.
USA-Colombia Free Trade Agreement worries poultry producers
29-May-2012
The Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the USA is going through, freeing Colombian exports from Washington politics. Colombian poultry producers appear to have pulled the wrong straw, however.
EU grants Cameroon banana sector 48 mln euros-radio
12-May-2012 Reuters
The money, granted in the context of Cameroon having signed an interim EPA with the EU, will be shared out to "major producing firms with plans to boost output".
Our Sister’s Garden and the KORUS FTA
12-May-2012 Hankyoreh
"We lose two trillion won every year because we are importing that amount of agricultural products from other countries, in this case, the United States. That means, ten percent of the population—300,000 peasants—will be forced out of their businesses every year. That means the end to our agricultural base. So, the FTA is a system for the one percent of the people."
Agriculture at risk under FTA with China
3-May-2012
Major concerns about a potential South Korea-China free trade agreement are already being voiced by the agriculture community and small manufacturers.
Thousands in Japan protest Asia-Pacific trade pact
25-Apr-2012
Thousands of farmers rallied in Tokyo Wednesday against a Pacific-wide free trade pact as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s prepares for a visit to the United States.
Cargill lobbyist’s quest is open markets
22-Apr-2012
Devry Boughner sits under a portrait of Ho Chi Minh in the home of Vietnam’s ambassador to the United States and pitches the virtues of open markets to a communist diplomat.
Milne says free trade deal would hurt apple and pear growers
20-Apr-2012
The Greens leader says the proposed Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement would put the Australian apple and pear industry at risk.
U.S. beef row tests nation’s resolve to liberalize trade: minister
1-Apr-2012
Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy Yang said Friday that the U.S. beef dispute not only involves beef but is also related to how the country shows its resolve to liberalize trade and strengthen its competitive edge.
Coalition calls for comprehensive US-EU FTA
22-Mar-2012 Poultry Site
An ad hoc coalition of 40 food and agricultural organizations led by the National Pork Producers Council in a letter sent yesterday to the Obama administration and Congress expressed concern that a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union might fall short of long-established US objectives for trade pacts.
Meat Controversy: Ma says US beef policy will help boost trade relations
21-Mar-2012
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he was concerned about the nation’s economic development after a free-trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the US came into force last week, adding that the government’s plan to partially lift a ban on US beef imports would help facilitate trade relations with other countries.
Meat industry wants free trade deal with Korea
21-Mar-2012
The Australian Meat Industry Council says Australian beef exporters need a free trade agreement with Korea.
TPP talks wrap up without American dairy offer
21-Mar-2012
The latest round of negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership nine-country trade pact has wrapped up without an American offer on access to its prized dairy markets.